ARM Holdings Still Eating Intel's Lunch [View article]
I am long INTC and if it falls below 22, may acquire some more. The first Intel phones are starting to show up and they will only eat into ARM sales as time goes on. ZTE just unveiled one and on Sep 18 motorola will unveil one. Lenovo has been selling one for a few months.
Apple Hates Google And Ford: But What's Really Going On? [View article]
Ford isn't going its own route. It has partnered with Microsoft for the Sync platform (their customized version of Microsoft Auto) and they have a multi-year lead on Siri as far as car audio controls go. Here are more details - http://bit.ly/LGKIsr http://bit.ly/LGKH7V
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
For a company with more money than god, the expectations are high and it is quite realistic for them to do something with each product once a year. I wouldn't count Kindle fire as an "Android" tablet. It was designed hobbled by Amazon to create a new Amazon ecosystem.
Yeah the whole Apple ecosystem is a good proposition but I think the others will play nice with each other while Apple continues on their path of being different and not having enough ports or standard chargers. That might be ok if you're in an all Apple ecosystem but I'm not certain that is good for mixed ecosystems.
Microsoft's incentive is that they don't make hardware. They need hardware makers, the same ones who make android devices so they have to play nice. Plus they probably make more money from Android than Windows Phone. It is in Microsoft's interest to play nice or at least pretend to. They know they might never sell as many phones with Windows as Android or iOS. So they cannot make Windows play tough with those devices and be the cause of a shift to macs or have the average Joe come to the realization that to check email they don't need a full OS. All they need is something like Chrome OS or one of the mobile OSs.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
I am running an older version of Android. My phone is almost two years old and it was nearing 6 months old when I bought it. The whole android latest version thing is overrated. In fact if you look at the iOS 6 features that will not be available on the iPhone 4, you will realize that even though you can upgrade to iOS 6 you dont get most of the benefits (one example is turn by turn maps - full list here - http://engt.co/LkXUkS). Which is not the case with android. I get the latest maps build on my phone. The problem with Android is not that there are phones running 2.2 and 2.3, the problem is that the cheap android phones of the last three years have been crappy. Basically you get what you pay for.
I understand what you are saying and Apple is my largest individual stock holding because so far other manufacturers/systems are just catching up on the polish of the OS. However that gap is so small now that Apple is going to need a big leap soon. As I said in one of my other comments above. Apple needs to update one line of products significantly every quarter to stay ahead of the game in whatever they are doing.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
Kicking google maps to the curb is different from doing something significantly better than what google maps just announced. In fact this should have come a long time ago. Android has had turn by turn navigation for how long? Two years? Three years?
Yes the display itself is significant. But it just made itself be not so significant by being only available on one line of MacBooks. The others were left in the cold with not even 1080P. With Apple's pace of progress, those guys (other macbooks pros and the air) will be left out in the cold for another year, maybe two.
Siri needs a lot more improvement before it is more than a gimmick. On Android, I can turn my screen on and I can without swiping, clicking or doing anything else at all see my appointments, if I have new email, local weather and news. With one swipe to the next screen, I can catch up on social networks and all important stock quotes. No going to any apps required. That is what iOS is missing. The square grid of icons is what is getting dated.
I wasn't expecting any major hardware announcements other than the retina display mac. However I was expecting availability of a higher res display across the line of macs. I was expecting a lot more from the software department than incremental updates to siri and new maps. I was hoping that the AppleTv will get apps. I was hoping that the iOS home screen will change for the better to be more competitive with Android and Windows Phone.
Facetime on 3G/4G was announced at a time when carriers are screwing customers out of bandwidth. If they had it a year ago, people might have been hooked and paid up. Now they'll have to think about it because of bandwidth overages.
As you said, it is a long game and Apple might lose the lead if they don't do more significant things faster.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
This is Apple we are talking about. The most valuable company on earth. They have to be ahead of the game. Keep the others playing catch up. New stuff needs to come faster and be better. Incremental and marginal refreshes are not going to cut it. I measure announcements' worth by seeing exactly what was announced. 1. Maps: Google announced the same stuff last week 2. iOS6 with incremental improvements, nothing spectacular. No developer announcements for the AppleTV box. iOS is getting dated. It needs significant usability improvements in the main home screen areas. 3. Retina Display macbook pro. This is a screen update on one macbook pro. Not an option across the line. Not even a middle ground option for the others of 1080p.
So I reiterate. Nothing significant new. Forget about expectations. There really was not much to see here other than the China focus.
Will Customers Buy Verizon's New Price Plan? [View article]
Tmobile is not a viable option for many thanks to spotty coverage especially for data. When my existing Verizon phone dies, I'm moving to prepaid. The only reason Verizon has me now is that it was impossible to find good phones on prepaid carriers two years ago. That is fast changing.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
For reaching $2000/share in 2015, Apple needs to speed up new product introductions. We need one line of products updated every quarter. I'm hoping the Apple TV products (the current AppleTV and the future TV) can become that 4th product line (1. iPhone/iPod, 2. iPad, 3. Computers)
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
I see no point of that resolution for a TV and I'm not entirely convinced that upscaling 1080P to something like that will make things look better (might make it worse). Now a 60" QFHD (3840x2160) TV (kinda sorta 4K). That would be something.
But no matter what the resolution, it is software that will sell the TV, not hardware.
What Billionaires Say And Do About The Stock Market Rally [View article]
Apple Earnings Preview: Can Shares Rebound? [View article]
Don't Be Afraid To Put MLPs In Your IRA [View article]
ARM Holdings Still Eating Intel's Lunch [View article]
Apple Hates Google And Ford: But What's Really Going On? [View article]
http://bit.ly/LGKIsr
http://bit.ly/LGKH7V
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
Yeah the whole Apple ecosystem is a good proposition but I think the others will play nice with each other while Apple continues on their path of being different and not having enough ports or standard chargers. That might be ok if you're in an all Apple ecosystem but I'm not certain that is good for mixed ecosystems.
Microsoft's incentive is that they don't make hardware. They need hardware makers, the same ones who make android devices so they have to play nice. Plus they probably make more money from Android than Windows Phone. It is in Microsoft's interest to play nice or at least pretend to. They know they might never sell as many phones with Windows as Android or iOS. So they cannot make Windows play tough with those devices and be the cause of a shift to macs or have the average Joe come to the realization that to check email they don't need a full OS. All they need is something like Chrome OS or one of the mobile OSs.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
I understand what you are saying and Apple is my largest individual stock holding because so far other manufacturers/systems are just catching up on the polish of the OS. However that gap is so small now that Apple is going to need a big leap soon. As I said in one of my other comments above. Apple needs to update one line of products significantly every quarter to stay ahead of the game in whatever they are doing.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
Yes the display itself is significant. But it just made itself be not so significant by being only available on one line of MacBooks. The others were left in the cold with not even 1080P. With Apple's pace of progress, those guys (other macbooks pros and the air) will be left out in the cold for another year, maybe two.
Siri needs a lot more improvement before it is more than a gimmick. On Android, I can turn my screen on and I can without swiping, clicking or doing anything else at all see my appointments, if I have new email, local weather and news. With one swipe to the next screen, I can catch up on social networks and all important stock quotes. No going to any apps required. That is what iOS is missing. The square grid of icons is what is getting dated.
I wasn't expecting any major hardware announcements other than the retina display mac. However I was expecting availability of a higher res display across the line of macs. I was expecting a lot more from the software department than incremental updates to siri and new maps. I was hoping that the AppleTv will get apps. I was hoping that the iOS home screen will change for the better to be more competitive with Android and Windows Phone.
Facetime on 3G/4G was announced at a time when carriers are screwing customers out of bandwidth. If they had it a year ago, people might have been hooked and paid up. Now they'll have to think about it because of bandwidth overages.
As you said, it is a long game and Apple might lose the lead if they don't do more significant things faster.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
1. Maps: Google announced the same stuff last week
2. iOS6 with incremental improvements, nothing spectacular. No developer announcements for the AppleTV box. iOS is getting dated. It needs significant usability improvements in the main home screen areas.
3. Retina Display macbook pro. This is a screen update on one macbook pro. Not an option across the line. Not even a middle ground option for the others of 1080p.
So I reiterate. Nothing significant new. Forget about expectations. There really was not much to see here other than the China focus.
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
Will Customers Buy Verizon's New Price Plan? [View article]
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
But out of curiosity, will being 1920x1200 vs 2880x1800 make that much difference especially if you read the link to Anandtech about the resolution.
Microsoft's Problem Of Doing Everything [View article]
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
Apple: China Push, iPhone Sales For Q3, And Thoughts On The Retina Display [View article]
But no matter what the resolution, it is software that will sell the TV, not hardware.